Fecal analyses may lead to noninvasive diagnostics for inflammatory bowel disease

New research indicates that analyses of vapors from fecal samples can identify volatile metabolites indicative of different types of inflammatory bowel disease, including Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.

The findings, which come from a study of fecal samples from 117 people with Crohn's disease, 100 with ulcerative colitis, and 109 healthy controls, suggest that the technique might be useful as a non-invasive screening test that could allow earlier diagnosis of such conditions.